Artist/band:

The Next Justin Bieber?

Over the past year, Shawn Mendes has become a name that we are all familiar with and is continuously being played on our radios. The Canadian singer, aged 17, has a fan base primarily built up of teenage girls. His career started when he began posting videos of himself singing online back in 2013. Shawn went on to release an EP, followed by his debut studio album "Handwritten", which features the greatly successful track "Stitches" which reached number one in the UK. He later went onto release a follow up acoustic album which featured the same songs with a different style. Shawn has recently started his worldwide tour which seems almost unreal, especially for his age.

When arriving at the venue, his primary audience was very clear. I stood surrounded by several hundred impatient girls, eager to get into the venue. Shawn performed at the Eventim Apollo in the heart of London which holds around 5,000. I knew straight away that this event was one that could not be missed and as fans flooded into the venue, I understood that it was only a matter of time until he would be selling out arenas.

When inside the venue, there was a very joyous atmosphere. Every single seat in the arena occupied. As the lights began to go down, fans immediately all rose from their chairs, screaming from the top of their lungs. This atmosphere in the room was unimaginable. As Mendes walked onto the stage, many young girls had tears in their eyes as they screamed his name. It became clear just how much of a impact Shawn was having on his fans. As he started the sing, the crowd roared louder which seemed almost impossible.

Opening with 'Something Big' had everyone up on their feet dancing, that's when I knew that this was going to be a memorable gig. Despite being possibly the only individual in the room not fan grilling over Mendes, I was very impressed by his powerful vocals. Mendes performed the majority of songs from his album, as well as some covers and new material also.

Many of Shawn's songs are acoustic, therefore created very peaceful, melodic atmosphere which was however broken by screams in every pause/breath he took. I think one moment that stood out to me most was when Shawn told everyone in the crowd to be quiet, so that there was complete silence in the room. He then sang to the crowd with no microphone and let his pure voice fill the room. This is when I realised that I was in the presence of a star.

On stage, Shawn wore a very simple outfit consisting of a t shirt and jeans. This laid back look made all focus on his voice only.

Mendes finished the gig with his most well known song "Stitches" which had the crowd going wild. I was very impressed by both his talent and commitment to music and making the fans happy. He also took time to thank his family who were at the gig themselves. His kind and caring personality was something that came through strong at the gig and is most probably one of the keys to his success.

If you have not already given his album a listen, I would strongly recommend doing so. I believe that we will be seeing a lot more of Mendes in the coming months and hopefully we shall see him selling out arenas.